Famous People/Infamous Failures
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 by Mark | Posted in Unconventional Thinking | CommentsOne of the great ironies in life is that you have to be a famous person, often an icon, before you become an infamous failure.
The list of the once illustrious/now disgraced is long and their names are etched in our minds.
Think of the free fall:
OJ
Pete Rose
Tiger
Hitler
Jocko
DeLorean
Madoff
There is rarely such a thing as a prominent failure who was not once idolized for being on top of their game. The weird paradox is that to be truly infamous–the object of widespread hatred, disdain, disgust–you must first have achieved your life’s work at an exceptional level. In most cases, better than anyone else on earth.
There are no obscure devils of major proportions. No headline stealing slime
who have not, just moments before, charmed and even intimidated us with
their awesome displays of brains, brawn, leadership, insight.
To be truly infamous you must first have been blazingly famous. It appears
to be a social vindication of Newton’s law that every action has an equal
and opposite reaction. It is just that in these notorious cases, the role
reversal is played out in prime time.
Thinking back, it is hard to remember through the fog of car chases and
glove trials that OJ Simpson was once viewed as an example of human
perfection. That Madoff was viewed by the nation’s best and brightest as a
Wall Street miracle worker.
Similarly, if you look back at the once-stellar companies that topped the
early lists of Fortune 500 companies, many are now extinct or lost in
mergerland: Sperry, Douglas Aircraft, Sealed Air.
As we all seek to rise to the top, we should think for a moment of the
forces that bring the greats smashing back to earth.
Perhaps most telling and worth remembering, is that the 180 degree from fame to infamy is brought on by themselves.
Drunk with power is more than a cliche. It is a cautionary tale.
Mark Stevens
CEO
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January 8th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
A view from here: We are all made in God’s image. Satan and his demons, seeing us are terrified and being reminded of their fate, full of jealousy and hate, lash out at us and attack.
We, meanwhile, are often caught unaware. Not knowing and unthinkingly we continue on our own paths, failing to open the eyes and see where we are, where we are going and we where we have been – heart, mind, body and soul.
And also, the Why…. Unfortunately, I live in a society that generally thinks of Satan and demons, as mystical beings, constructs or concepts when in fact, history can show us that Satan as a cult of worship, philosophy and concept predates even Judaism.
What does this mean for me in our modern society? For me this means there is more than likely an organized group of people willing to chop someone’s legs out from underneath them – or better yet , get them to chop off their own legs – just for the hell of doing it. I mean, their philosophy is – “if its not me or mine, then knocking the other person down opens an opportunity for me or mine. At the least, I prove I am better than this person by knocking them down and a) I won’t have to see them being more than I am and b) others won’t see them being more than I am.”
In modern society, this means these people will use any means at their disposal. They will spread rumors, lie, cheat, steal, also use drugs on people to cause problems in others lives. I don’t mean the kind of drugs that get people hooked or OD – I mean drugs that will leave a post drug induced issue – whether it be a stupid habit or a stupid idea that will eventually harm the subject – who is actually a victim of assault with out having any remembrance of the assault taking place – and probably wouldn’t even recognize it as an assault. Anything the CIA or KGB have, these people have or seek to have.
For years the FBI denied the existence of an organized crime organization called the Mafia. We now know , they exist, they are organized not only in to “families” but have local, national and international ruling “Commissions” and have great power in society and great influence over our government – more than the average citizen has.
It may seem like a comic book idea – but we need to examine the philosophy and concept of – a commission of evil. A peoples who are raised to or accept this philosophy as viable in a laissez-faire society – either deliberately, by ignorance or by trickery. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out there is something going on – our leaders and stars are dropping like flies. What is at stake is unprecedented instant wealth and fame! It is not so far fetched that someone would hand around the privileged of our society with the intention of causing harm – trick some kid into thinking he’s cool by spiking cigarettes or drinks and “messing around” with other peoples minds – then kick back and feel superior while other peoples lives become unraveled.
This is something we should have looked for during the Cold War and something we should be vigilant of today but we do not openly discuss these issues, the true meaning, cause and purpose of religion in our society.
I am some one who ruined his own life by trying to be a professional musician – had my legs chopped before I even got out of the gate because I was unaware. I still hope to make it but things are looking pretty slim – I am now almost 50. Me being less than I can be – means my country is less than it should be – which means the world is less than it could be. God help us all.
May 1st, 2010 at 11:36 pm
Enjoy the most of the information I found here, just wanted to get my word out in the air, thansk to the blog owner…
July 28th, 2010 at 9:51 am
SO EPIC ! EVERY BODY FAILS AT LEAST ONCE!